The chance of becoming a millionaire -- however slim -- is available to players of America's multistate lotteries several times each week, but it's not every day that a lucky participant can take home a whopping $400 million.

For the Jan. 6 drawing, the Powerball jackpot has climbed to that massive figure, one of the highest ever, the New York Daily News reported. Throughout Powerball history, only 10 previous winning ticket-holders have collected more than $300 million.

The $400 million amount, meanwhile, is the result of the Jan. 2 drawing -- which produced four new millionaires who took home $1 million to $2 million -- but in which no one matched all five numbers plus the Powerball in order to claim the $334 million grand prize.

Powerball jackpots start off at $40 million and increase by $10 million every roll, Reuters explained. Participants choose five numbers from 1 to 59 and one red Powerball number from 1 to 35, either by picking their own lucky numbers or allowing a computer to assign random digits.

Draws take place Wednesdays and Saturdays shortly before 5 p.m. ET, and individual tickets for a Powerball number cost $2. The odds of winning the grand prize are 1 in 292,201,338, and , according to the multistate lottery's website, and Powerball is available in all states except Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Mississippi, Nevada and Utah. It is played in the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

If the Jan. 6 drawing finally produces a winner, and that lucky American chooses to take her prize home in a lump-sum payment -- as most do -- she will see her bank account increase by almost $245 million, with the rest going to taxes.

The largest Powerball jackpot ever, meanwhile, logged in at $590.5 million, the New York Daily News recalled. That prize went to an 84-year-old woman from Florida who bought the ticket after another customer let her go ahead in line.